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I throw my jacket on and run up the steps, but before I can reach the front door, I bump into Elle. I grab her arm to keep her from toppling over. Right away, her gaze travels to the spot where I’m touching her. My eyes are drawn to it as well, and instead of just letting go of her, we both stare at our skin touching.

“Can’t wait to get to your date?” she asks.

It takes a lot of effort, but I drop her arm. I don’t want to come across as a creep, or worse, have her think this means something, because it doesn’t.

“Yeah, I am. What about you?” I ask. “You look stunning.”

It’s only now, looking at her instead of just her arm, that I see how amazing she looks. Her curly red hair hangs loosely braided over her right shoulder, and the curves of her hips fill her dress perfectly.

“Thank you,” she says, her face turning a light shade of red. “I’m going on a date as well. Layla from the park set me up with someone.” Her eyes sparkle as she says the words.

I grin. “Let me guess. Zeke?”

Her lips part and she laughs. “How do you know that?”

“Because she’s been trying to get that guy into a relationship for months now.”

She scrunches up her nose. “That doesn’t sound good. What’s wrong with him? Why hasn’t Layla succeeded in her quest to find him someone? Ugh, now I’m nervous about going.”

I put my hand on her arm again in an attempt to calm her down, but all it does is get my own pulse racing. “Don’t worry, the guy’s harmless. Rumor has it that he needs to work on his moves, though.”

“His moves?” She chuckles, and I can’t help but laugh with her.

“Yeah, his dates always follow the same script. At least, that’s what I hear from the girls at work.”

Her shoulders drop and the sparkle in her eye is almost completely gone now. I feel guilty for ruining this date for her before it’s even started.

“Why don’t you call me when you need to escape? I promise I’ll come and rescue you right away.”

She hands me her phone so I can type in my number. “Despite the fact that that’s a real Prince Charming thing to say, I doubt your date will be happy if you run off to rescue some damsel in distress.”

I hand her phone back, and our fingers linger longer than they need to. “She’ll understand. Since you’re my sister’s best friend, you’re basically like family, and family comes first, right?”

She nods. “Yeah, family.”

I turn around, rush out of the door, and hop on my motorcycle.

Practically family. What a thing to blurt out after sharing… I don’t even know how to define that moment between us, but it wasn’t one I’d ever share with a family member, that’s for sure.

I make it to the bar, and spot Tyler waiting for me at one of the tables in the back.

“Hey, man,” I say, taking off my leather jacket and draping it over one of the chairs.

He hands me an ice-cold beer and we clink our bottles together before taking a swig. “How are things going with the new roommate?” he asks.

“Good.”

He laughs. “Good? That’s all? Wow. Having her around must be a snooze fest.”

I take another swig of my beer to buy some time before answering him. Even though Tyler is my best friend, I don’t know if it would be wise to tell him about Elle. The thought makes me chuckle, because there’s nothing to tell. Nothing palpable anyway.

“She’s great, actually, but we haven’t spent a lot of time together yet. I did get her a job at the park,” I say, glancing at the door every now and then. I hope neither Elle nor my sister will come here tonight.

“That’s nice of you.”

I grin. “You know me, always happy to help. How are things going with you?”

“Great. Our firm is going to be designing that new housing project in Lakedale.”